Till Death
by ChibiJaime
Summary: Kougaiji finds himself in a desperate race to save Yaone's life as he comes to grips with his own feelings. Yes, it's KougaijixYaone. Some parts ooc. R&R appreciated and encouraged.


"Till Death"  
  
It was always quiet when she worked. Yaone always did prefer it that way, with no one interrupting her, no one startling her... the slightest miscalculation in her potions could have dire consequences, after all, and no one ever wanted to find out what would happen if Yaone dropped an explosive before it was done.  
  
Kougaiji knew he shouldn't, but he often found himself pausing in the doorway, listening as the young demon woman murmured equations to herself... just listening to the sound of her voice. It was as common as stopping to stare at the lonely visage of his mother, or spending time with Ririn.  
  
Only today, it was somewhat different. No sounds came from the room. Yaone did not speak, and the only sound that came out of her workroom was the occasional pained moan. It was when he heard a sudden thud and shattering glass that all of his senses came to life, however. Forgetting the promise he had made to knock if he ever wanted to enter the room, Kougaiji burst through the doors to find Yaone laying on the ground on her side, a vial shattered near her hand.  
  
"Yaone!" The demon prince was at the girl's side in an instant, cradling her to his chest. "Yaone! Daijoubu desu ka?! Yaone!"  
  
Lashes lifted slowly on glassy saffron eyes, gazing distantly at Kougaiji. "Kou...gaiji-sama..."  
  
Quickly, Kougaiji shook his head, his hand pressing to her cheek. He was shaking, and though he found it odd, he paid it no mind. Yaone was important right now. Not his gods damned shaking. "Shh, shh... don't talk, save your strength..."  
  
Yaone did not rebuke his order. Instead, she let out a shuddery sigh and fell limp in his arms. Kougaiji's head shot up... "DOKUGAKU JI!"  
  
*****  
  
The next day passed far too slowly for Kougaiji's taste. He never left Yaone's side, holding her hand gently. Nii Jyenii's associate had to be comissioned to strip Yaone of her clothes, soaked with sweat. Now, the beautiful demon lay silent, her head tossing from side to side, hair out of the ponytail and braids and splayed beneath her, the blanket pulled up securely beneath her arms. Her skin was abnormally pale and frighteningly clammy to the touch.  
  
This was a side of Yaone Kougaiji did not like seeing. He preferred Yaone when she was wide awake, smiling at him softly, subtly pleading in her own way with sad eyes for him to just touch her... just once, even if it wasn't lingering, even if it was his fingertips barely brushing her cheek.  
  
That one touch she had always craved, just beneath a calm and demure surface, had not come. Not until this dire moment, while she lay unconscious and frighteningly close to death, her breath coming in shallow spurts and her smooth skin soaked with a cold sweat. And he hated himself for it. He hated himself for never showing her what he felt, what he knew she wanted.  
  
Shaking a little, the demon prince leaned foreward. His lips touched Yaone's softly, for a very fleeting moment, and in that moment, she shifted, her eyes fluttering open. She was barely awake, a little delirious, and barely even aware of the close proximity of her face to Kougaiji's. "Kougaiji-sama..."  
  
A smile lifted Kougaiji's features for the first time all day. "Don't call me that. Yaone... do you know an antitoxin to whatever this is...? Can you tell me?"  
  
Yaone's lips moved. She was thinking, as hard as it was at this point. "On my stand... red vial... looks alive..."  
  
She was having difficulty talking, forcing the words as her whole body shook. He frowned. "I'll find it. I'll save you, Yaone. You have my word."  
  
*****  
  
Of course, this was much easier said than done. Yaone's stand had a great multitude of red vials of a good variety, and though she labelled them, he was unsure as to what the labels meant.  
  
Sighing, he dropped into the stool where Yaone sat to work. He pictured her sitting there, head bent over her potions ever-so-diligently. He remembered the way she would retort with a frustrated blush when he would interrupt her for something, even if it was so menial as to ask how she was doing.  
  
As he sat there, he was almost totally unaware of Dokugaku Ji watching him from the doorway, his own face sharp with worry. "Kou... did you find it?"  
  
"No." Dokugaku Ji had never heard Kougaiji sound so distressed... so like a lost child. "There's too many vials here. I don't know which one it is... Doku, she could die."  
  
"Have you told Ririn?"  
  
"I don't want to upset her."  
  
A soft snort came from Dokugaku Ji's direction and Kougaiji turned his head with a rather unintentional scowl. "What?"  
  
Dokugaku Ji shook his head. "As upset as Ririn would be, I don't think she could hit your point of depression. We have to save her, Kou. That's all there is to it. I hate seeing you like this as much as you'd hate to hurt Ririn... as much as you don't want to see Yaone die."  
  
Startled violet eyes focused in an instant on the face of his friend, wide and actually frightened. "I refuse to let that happen!"  
  
"Then let's get our asses in gear and find that antitoxin. Before things get any worse than they already are."  
  
*****  
  
Well over two hours later, Kougaiji and Dokugaku Ji had the selection of potions narrowed to ten. Not good. Both of them sat, puzzling over the final selection of mixtures.  
  
"It could be this one," Dokugaku Ji suggested.  
  
Kougaiji shook his head. "Too dark, and it looks too placid. This one?"  
  
Another shake of the head. "Looks too pinkish."  
  
All right, so they were down to eight potions now.  
  
The time was passing quickly, and with every moment that slipped by, Yaone grew further and further out of their grasp. Suddenly, Kougaiji's hand shot out, grasping a vial as tightly as he could without breaking it. "This one!"  
  
The liquid in the vial was truly strange indeed. It was blood red, and the stuff inside it seemed to move of its own accord, against the motion put to it by Kougaiji's vigor. The demon prince was shaking as he held the vial in his hand. /Yaone... I'll save you.../  
  
*****  
  
The minutes passed like hours as Kougaiji sat quietly, waiting for Yaone to show any sign that the potion had taken any affect. He had done everything as he had been told she had done for him so many times, cradling her head in his hand, pouring the stuff into her mouth, coaxing it down by gently rubbing his fingertips against her throat. Things were looking up at the moment... the fever had broken, and she wasn't shaking. And finally...  
  
"K--Kougaiji-sama?"  
  
Kougaiji's eyes shot back to his subordinate, watching her look up at him with a vastly alert expression, saffron eyes free of any glassy sickness or misty poison. Her face was its normal creamy white, the skin soft and warm to the touch... and she was staring at him incredulously as he rested his palm against her cheek. He smiled a little. "Welcome back, Yaone. How do you feel?"  
  
Yaone shook her head a little, lifting her hands to her face. She drew back with a furious blush when she almost put her hand over Kougaiji's. "Better, now... Honto ni arigatou gozaimasu, Kougaiji-sa--..."  
  
Her words were cut short when Kougaiji pressed a long finger to her lips. "Not Kougaiji-sama. Kougaiji. You never have to call me that."  
  
"Demo..."  
  
"Domo sumimasen, Yaone. I don't know how to say what I want to say."  
  
The young woman blinked in surprise, watching Kougaiji in confusion. "I don't understand..."  
  
Kougaiji didn't bother asking for permission. This was the one time he felt it was unnecessary. Like he had when she was delirious and unaware, he leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers, smiling at the shy look of shock that crossed her face almost instantly. "I was never good with words, Yaone. Please understand that I'll never leave you, or let you die. I would give my life to keep you alive, as readily as I would Dokugaku Ji or Ririn... but I will not make the same mistake again. I will not let myself lose you before ever letting you know that you're not the only one hiding your feelings." He pulled her into a sitting position and hugged her, vaguely aware of the sheet that was the only thing separating them. He only smiled when Yaone hugged him back, tentatively at first, then stronger. "Aishite iru... Yaone... till death do us part..."  
  
*****  
  
It was a quiet evening in Tenjiku. Yaone sat quietly bent over her potions, a smile bright on her pretty features, fingers deftly working with things she had since she was a child. Kougaiji stood just behind her, watching curiously. "Kougaiji... must you stand like that?"  
  
"If I'm ever in a predicament like I was before, I'd like to know what I have to look for when I go to find it."  
  
"You couldn't find the vial?" Yaone was looking at him in surprise, and Kougaiji shook his head sheepishly. "Goodness. It shouldn't have been that difficult."  
  
Kougaiji smirked at her, leaning over her shoulder and hugging her to him lightly. "Oh? And why do you say that?"  
  
Yaone held up the vial and it was all Kougaiji could do not to groan and leave the room from sheer embarassment when he read Yaone's label, unable to believe he didn't notice it before.  
  
'ANTITOXIN'  
  
~Owari~ 


End file.
